Barbara Strozzilaan 336
1083 HN Amsterdam
The Netherlands
gssbsecretariat@globalreporting.org

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Item 04 – GRI Sector Standards

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Project for Agriculture, Aquaculture,

3and Fishing – Input on GRI Topic

4Standards

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For GSSB information
Date

2 May 2022

Meeting

19 May 2022

Project

GRI Sector Standard Project for Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Fishing

Description

This document summarizes the input relevant to GRI Topic Standards collectedduring the development of GRI 13: Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Fishing Sectors
2022. This document includes the preliminary opinion of the Standards Division
based on the outcomes of the Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Fishing Project todate. However, recommendations to the GSSB work program will be made by theStandards Division on the basis of cumulative input from multiple Sector
Standards projects.

This document has been prepared by the GRI Standards Division and is made available to observers
at meetings of the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB). It does not represent an official
position of the GSSB. Board positions are set out in the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards. TheGSSB is the independent standard setting body of GRI. For more information visit
www.globalreporting.org.

© GRI 2022

6Contents

7Background ............................................................................................................................................. 38Input on Topic Standards ........................................................................................................................ 3

9Based on the Sector Standard ............................................................................................................ 3

10Further feedback from the Working Group .......................................................................................... 4

11Input received during public exposure ................................................................................................. 5

12Preliminary opinion .................................................................................................................................. 51314Appendix 1. Public comments on Topic Standards collected during the exposure period for theAgriculture, Aquaculture, and Fishing Sector Standard .......................................................................... 6Page 2 of 715Background

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Along with the developing GRI Sector Standards, as outlined in the Program Description, the GRISector Program is to support the enhancement and expansion of the GRI Standards by surfacing
issues not previously covered in the GRI Standards.

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The Standards Division will make proposals to the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) todevelop new, or revise existing Standards, which the GSSB will consider and prioritize during theregular reviews of the GSSB work program per the Due Process Protocol.

222324Feedback on GRI Topic Standards was collected throughout the GRI Sector Standards Project forAgriculture, Aquaculture, and Fishing. This document focuses on relevant feedback, collected during
research activities, from project working group input and public comment submissions.

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The document also includes the preliminary opinion of the Standards Division based on the project’soutcomes. The Standards Division will make recommendations to the GSSB work program on thebasis of cumulative input from numerous Sector Standards projects.

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Input on Topic Standards

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Based on the Sector Standard

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The GRI 13: Agriculture, Aquaculture, and Fishing Sectors 2022 contain seven topics for which nodedicated (or closely related) Topic Standard exists, namely:

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No disclosures from Topic Standards were considered relevant for any of these topics.

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Natural ecosystem conversion could conceivably come under the umbrella of biodiversity. However,
the issue of ecosystem conservation and deforestation is of such concern for agriculture, aquaculture,and fishing sectors that natural ecosystem conservation was considered significant enough toconstitute a separate likely material topic. Similarly, clear and normative expectations of responsible
behavior and transparency related to conservation and deforestation are not currently reflected in GRI
304: Biodiversity 2016 but may be covered in the revised version currently being developed.

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Animal health and welfare has been consistently identified as a topic that could be usefully covered bya Topic Standard and may be relevant to some sectors outside of the food value chain, such as
pharmaceuticals. This topic also presented challenges in reaching consensus on the specificreporting that is appropriate and feasible and would likely benefit from further dedicated discussions
on the topic, as well as reporting guidance.

515253545556575859

Land and resource rights, and living income and living wage are expected to be highly relevant tovarious other sectors. Land and resources rights have already been identified as likely material for theoil and gas, and coal sectors, and are predicted to be relevant for all extractive sectors. Living income
and living wage is forecast to be relevant for other sectors where a large proportion of the sector’s
workforce have lower wages, such as textiles and apparel. A body of work and common
methodologies for calculating living income and wage across sectors and geographic regions isemerging, though this is not currently reflected in the Standards. The issue of wages and wage setting
is not currently addressed in the GRI Standards, apart from one disclosure focused on market
presence.

Natural ecosystem conversion
Soil health
Pesticides use
Food security
Animal health and welfareLand and resource rights
Living income and living wage

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6061

Soil health and pesticide use are likely to be relevant only to the sectors covered by GRI 13 andsectors in the associated value chain, such as the food and beverage sector.

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In addition, to achieve complete reporting for the sector, the working group identified disclosure gaps
for the following 12 topics which require additional sector reporting:

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For some topics, namely: biodiversity; water and effluents; waste; and occupational health and safety,
the additional sector reporting reflects specific reporting appropriate for the fishing and aquaculture
sectors. In these cases, there is no evidence that the additional sector reporting would be appropriate
for other sectors to be the subject of Standards in the future.

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Many of the other topics for which there is additional sector reporting is due to the type of workers inthe sectors, both in terms of their demographics and the employment practices of the sectors, as wellas the impact of this sector on rural and poor communities.

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To measure equity, topic disclosures relevant to the topics of employment practices and nondiscrimination and equal opportunity focus primarily on employees, using comparisons between fulltime and part-time and/or temporary employees or by age and gender. The disclosures do not
systematically consider the differences between the benefits and conditions afforded to workers (whoare not employees), as compared to employees. Reporting inequity between employees and othertypes of workers is of particular relevance to the agriculture, aquaculture, and fishing sectors but may
be more broadly relevant considering the increasingly common shifts in employment arrangements
and supply chains structures. More consideration of the disparity between employees and otherworkers may also introduce consistency across the Standards, aligning with the revised glossary
definitions for employee and worker, which were introduced as part of the transition from the G4
Guidelines to the GRI Standards and the categories of workers introduced as part of the GRI 403:
Occupational Health and Safety 2018.

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It was also identified that the existing Topic Disclosures do not sufficiently cover impacts associatedwith the recruitment and employment of migrant workers. It is expected that this type of reporting islikely to be appropriate for other sectors, including the two upcoming projects on textiles and apparel,and food and beverages.

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Further feedback from the Working Group100

Feedback from the working group focused on the following key areas:

Emissions
Climate adaptation and resilience
Biodiversity
Water and effluents
Waste
Food safety
Rights of indigenous peoples
Non-discrimination and equal opportunity
Occupational health and safety
Employment practices
Economic inclusion
Supply chain traceability

101102•Inadequate scope of reporting on Rights of Indigenous Peoples in GRI 411: Rights ofIndigenous Peoples 2016.

103104•Insufficient scope of reporting on biodiversity (including natural ecosystem conversion) in GRI
304: Biodiversity 2016.

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Some topic Standards that address impacts on people only ask for incidents of noncompliance (e.g., GRI 408: Child Labor 2016, GRI 409: Forced or Compulsory Labor 2016,
GRI 407: Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining 2016). Other relevant
information, for example, on specific actions to prevent negative impacts associated with thetopics, should also be requested to provide a more complete and nuanced set of information.

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The difficulty of data collection in sectors that are made up of complex and multi-party supply
chains. Note: this is the first Sector Standard that highlights the challenges associated with asector made up of a mix of larger organizations and much smaller, micro, or even individual
primary producers. Farmers and fisheries fall under the scope of GRI 13 but are also highly
relevant in terms of the significant impacts of larger organizations.

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Input received during public exposure

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Some responses received during public exposure are directly relevant to Topic Standards. The
complete comments are listed in Appendix 1 and logged on the GRI website.

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Key feedback received from respondents includes the following:

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•Disclosure 201-2 Financial implications and other risks and opportunities due to climatechange in GRI 201: Economic Performance 2016 is related to financial materiality andmisaligned with GRI’s focus, considering that reporting using the GRI Standards is on theimpacts a business generates rather than impacts on a business.

123124•Further guidance is needed to calculate and report on Scope 3 emissions for the sector,including biogenic, land use and land management emissions.

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•Frequent requests to include disclosures to report on due diligence processes associated withsocial topics or the supply chain.

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Preliminary opinion

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The development of GRI 13 highlighted several topics that could have fallen within the scope of GRI
Topic Standards but were not sufficiently covered by existing disclosures due to the significance of
the associated impacts and the context of the sector. Natural ecosystem conservation is likely to becovered by the revision of GRI 304. However, topics related to impacts on communities, particularly
rural or low socio-economic communities, that have a high potential of being likely material for othersectors - land and resource rights, economic inclusion, living income and living wage, in particular will not be covered by near term Topic Standards projects.

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Some matters that have previously emerged in Sector Standards projects were again highlighted.
Free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) was insufficiently covered despite being a cornerstone of therights of indigenous people and land and resource rights. There was a lack of clarity about how
Disclosure 201-2 Financial implications and other risks and opportunities due to climate change fit
within the GRI Standards approach. Reporting from GRI 405: Diversity and Equal Opportunity andGRI 406: Non-discrimination 2016 were merged into the single topic of non-discrimination and equal
opportunity based on the working group's recommendation that they are not distinct enough to be twoseparate topics.

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It also appears that there could be a useful alignment of scopes across employment topics, with moreconsistent coverage of workers and employees and the potential for other under-represented or
marginalized groups to be part of disclosures focused on equity measures where relevant.

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Animal health and welfare arose as a topic with sufficient complexity and cross-sector relevance thatcomplete and well-rounded reporting on this topic cannot be achieved without the development of aTopic Standard. Recent policy developments on this topic, such as the Animal Sentience Bill underconsideration in the United Kingdom, further justify the development of such a Topic Standard.

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Appendix 1. Public comments on Topic Standards
collected during the exposure period for the Agriculture,Aquaculture, and Fishing Sector Standard
No

Comments (incl. extracted from more detailed responses received)

GRI 305: Emissions 2016
By itself, topic standard 305 will not direct organizations to disclose land-basedor other sector-specific emissions.
Very complex to report on Scope 3 emissions if includes production-level
impacts (lacking knowledge of soil sequestration, manure managementpractices), especially in smallholder supply chains.
GRI 401: Employment 2016
…companies should be asked to report on their worker-to-CEO compensation
ratio
GRI 405: Diversity and Equal Opportunity 2016[…] in Standard 405-1, migrant worker status should specifically be identified
as always “relevant” in these particular sectors and therefore the percentage ofmigrant and non-migrant employees per employee category should always bereported
Organizations should be requested to disclose their gender action plans (or ifthey are even working on one) to end discrimination, close gender wage gaps,
create equal opportunities, and increase inclusion throughout the organizationand its business activities.
GRI 407: Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining 2016
Disclosure 407-1 is general and overarching requiring the reporting of50
operations and suppliers in which workers’ rights to freedom of association andcollective bargaining may be at risk and the reporting of measures that theorganization has taken to support the exercise of these rights. […] The ITF

Name of organization
or individualCountry

Stakeholder group

Corteva Agriscience

United States

Business enterprise

Eden Strategy InstituteSingapore

Business enterprise

Oxfam

Netherlands

Civil societyorganization

International Transport
Workers' Federation(ITF)

UnitedKingdom

Labor

Oxfam

Netherlands

Civil society
organization

International Transport
Workers' Federation(ITF)

UnitedKingdom

Labor

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would also encourage additional disclosure requirements to report on tradeunion density.
GRI 409: Forced or Compulsory Labor 2016
[Topic] 2.16 on forced labor could include greater clarification and definition ofhuman trafficking, especially its indicators and how these relate to forced laborand other labor abuses.
GRI 411: Rights of Indigenous Peoples 2016
In addition to asking companies to report on their approach to FPIC,
organizations should be required to disclose whether they have a policy onFPIC, a zero-tolerance policy on land grabbing, and whether those policies areincluded in supplier codes of conduct.

Environmental JusticeFoundationUnited
Kingdom

Civil society
organization

Oxfam

Netherlands

Civil society
organization

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